Thermostatically controlled electric iron for dry and steam ironing



p 1952 A. BATE 2,609,625

'THERMOSTATICALLY CONTROLLED ELECTRIC IRON FOR DRY AND STEAM IRONINGFiled Feb. 17, 1948 2 SHEETSSHEET 1 flgi: gmmin 4 4 INVENTOR.

ALAN BATE BY AT TORNEY Sept. 9, 1952 BATE 2,609,625

THERMOSTATICALLY CONTROLLED ELECTRIC IRON FOR- DRY AND STEAM IRONINGFiled Feb. 17, 1948 2 SHEETSSHEET 2 INVENTOR. ALAN BA TE Patented Sept.9, 1952 'THERMOSTATICALLY CONTROLLED fEL-EC rare IRON FOR DRY AND STEAMIRO'NING a Ba e .R m 1111. assi ne t lh W sted Hardware ManufacturingCpmpany, Wine sted,.Conn., a corporation l flonnecticut ApplicationFebruary 17, 1948; Serial ire-8,85 1

3 Claims. (01. 38-47) 1 This inventionrelates tonew and usefulimprovements in sadirons andrhas particular re.- lation to an electricsteam iron and is concerned in part with the applicationoi the principledis:- closed in my application Serial Number -'Z81,442 filed "October22, 1947, now Patent No. 2,573,114, dated October 30, 1951,. toiahousehold .or' more conventional type of electric iron.

vAn 'obiect .of the invention'is to :provide an electric steam ironincluding a sole plate and a flash boiler on one side of saidsoleplate.and including a casting having a circuitous passage therethrough andadapted-to receive water .and discharge steam.

Another object of the invention is to provide electric steam ironincluding a fixed handle .and a perforated sole plate connected to aflash ,boiler in which. .steam is made under external water pressuresupplied to la v'alveion-the iron at the boiler intake. 1.

Another .object :is :to provide an electric steam iron -having thecharacteristics above set forth and further including certain improvedfeatures of construction whereby the iron is of neat and attractiveappearance andadapted for'long use- .ful life. Y

;Other objects and advantages of the -inven-:- .tion will becomeapparent from a consideration of the-following detailed descriptiontaken in connection with the accompanying drawings whereina-satisfactory embodiment of theiinvention -:is shown. *However,. it isto be understood that the-invention is not .limited to the detailsdisclosed .but includes all such variations and modifications :as fallwithin the spirit of the invention and the scope of the appended claims.

:In ;the drawings:

@Fig. :lis asideelevational .viewshowing an electriczsteam ironconstructed inaccordance with the invention and hooked up ready for use;

' 2 is 1a.;central longitudinal-sectional view through thetiron-ofFig.1;

iiEI'ig.:-3 isa transverse sectional view taken as along the line 3-3 ofFig. 2;. 1

-lifig. {his atop-plan view of the sole plate thatmostatic zcqntrol randboiler assembly;

Flg.:,5 is a bottom plan-view of theflash boiler; and

Fig; 6 is :a .top plan view:of -1the sole plate and thermostatic:co'ntrol assembly; the boiler being omitted. I

Referring in detail to the drawings, :my improved electric steam iron,generally designated [0, comprises a sole plate H of steel against "theluppersidecf whichis secured a flash boiler 12 I 2 and ion h upp r sideof such flash boiler is a suitable electrical heating element or unit l3against the upper side of which is located a pair pi heat insulatingsheets 14, of asbestos or the like. The heatingelement or unit I3. isheld in oo the ma co a t with the uppe si of h flash boiler .izbytheasbestos pads 14 which serve to distribute the pressure of a metalpressure plate 45 pressing against the uppergside ofthe pppermost ofsaidinsulating pads. 1

Over the assembly describedthere is disposed a clpsureshell or casing itof sheet metal the same being held in place as by hollow screws l1 and18 passing through the shelland threaded to studs I9 and =21! havingtheir lower ends secured to the sole plate. The iron is to bemanipulated by a handle 2! of any suitable material butpreferably of aninsulating material and such handle has its ;f o rwa r d end secured tothe forward portion of the shell or casing it throu h a heat bailiingarrangement 22 and the rear'portion of said -handle is secured to therear portion ofthe l l Q ca in w'l ugh a suita le heat ba i arrangementQ3. The rear portion of the handle "21 ishollowed outas at 24and suchhollow portion includes side walls 25 and 26. The purpose of thisconstructioniwill later appear. The circuit to the heating element i3 iscontrolled by a thermostatic or thermally operated switchingmeans-generally designatedl'32 and such ;means maybe any of thosedisclosed in my application fierialNumber 715,561 filed December 11,l94,no w Batent No. 2,537,808, dated January 9, 1951. As hereyshown, theswitching means comprises a pair ofqarms 21 and 28 mounted on therespective studs or posts H! and 'zflandcarrving contact buttons asshown. The contact arms ,are,-,of course, insulated from the posts andconnected with the :element l3. Below the lower contact arm il there isa bowed element 29 held in bowed position 'byhaving its extrenies'an}choredor secured toor in engagementwith lower portions ofthe-posts orstuds I 9 and 20.

Mowed element 29 has a small coefficient of expansion as-compared 'withthat-of the sole plate whereby; asthe sole plate becomes heated and thestuds l9z'and iii-move apart, the bowed element 'tends to fiattenandthis permits" opening {crane switch comprising the 1 arms 21 and -28.thereafter as the sole plate cools and contracts, the studs 19 and 20aremoved-toward-one another causingi'an increase inthe curvature orbowing ot the. element 29 so-that the-switch arm zl is forced upwardlyto engage its contact button with that of the switch arm 28 to againclose the circuit to the element [3.

Any or the usual adjustment for controlling the opening and closing ofthe switch by the thermal means may be employed, such an adjustmentbeing shown in my application above referredto and in the presentinstance being designed for manipulation by means of a hand piece 30located at the upper side of the shell IE and preferably under thehollow of the handle 2|. It is noted that on the studs l9 and 20, belowthe hollow screws I! and I8, are nuts 31 and these nuts are tightened toclamp the pressure plate l against the insulating pads [4 to secure theas- Y sembly prior to the disposition of the shell or closure thereover.On said studs at the under side of the pressure plate l5 are other nuts31a for securing the switching arms 21 and 28 in position.

The thermal or thermostatic switch assembly generally designated 32 isshown as assembled or mountedon the sole plate without the addition ofany other parts in Fig. 6. The sole plate has a series of ports 33extending from its upper side through its lower side and as bestillustrated in Fig. 6, a'number of these ports lead into elongateddepressions or channels 34 formed in the underside of the sole plate Aswill later more clearly appear, the ports 33 serve as conduits toconduct steam to the underside of the sole plate. The flash boiler l2comprises a body 35 in the form of an aluminum casting and ofsubstantially the contour of the upper side of the sole plate! I. Thealuminum casting 35 has a circuitous passage cast therein. As shown,this passage is formed by a substantially flat coil of tubing 36, theinlet end portion 37 of which extends above the casting and rearwardlythereof and preferably has its free end flanged as at 38. The passageformed by the tubing 36 also includes a discharge end portion 39 locatedin a pocket or cavity 46 formed in the underside of the casting 35towards the forward or toe end portion thereof. Boiler l2 and the castbody portion 35 has an opening 4| formed entirely therethrough and,- asshown, such opening is somewhat in the shape of a cross and is locatedwithin the passageway formed by the flat coiled tube 36; i 7

When making the assembly, after the thermostatic or thermal switch means32 is mounted on the'upper side of the sole plate, a suitable sealinggasket 42 (Fig. 2) is disposed on the recessed fiat surfaces 43surrounding the pocket of the casting 35 and then the casting isreversed from the position of Fig. 5 to that of Fig. 4and is disposedagainst the upper side of the sole plate. The boiler and the sole plateare then ecured together in the desired manner, preferably as by'meansof three screws 44 (Fig. 4) which passthrough openings 45 in the boileror casting l2 (Fig.5) and are threaded into tapped openings 46 (Fig. 6}in the upper side portion of the sole plate H. Thereafter, the heatingelement is located and the parts I4 and pressure plate l5 are positionedand secured in place.

Through the side wall 25 of the hollow handle portion, an electricalcord 41 is carriedas through a ru bber or other flexible protectingdevice 48 and; at the inner side of the wall 25 such cord may passthrough a Washer or the like 49 and have a strain reliever 58 appliedthereto. Within-the recess or hollow portion 0f the handle; the Wires ofthe cord 47 are separated and are connected with bindingposts 5| and 52on conductor strips 53 and 54 suitably connected with the element l3,such connection being as through the thermal or thermostatic switchmeans 32.

Also mounted on the wall 25 is a valve, generally designated 55,comprising essentially a casing 55 having a valve seat 5'! and a needlevalve 58 carried by or including a relatively long stem 59 which passesthrough the 'wall' portion 26 of the handle and'at the outer side of thelatter is equipped with a handle or finger piece 60 for manipulation ofthe valve. A flexible conduit 6!, as in the form of a length of rubberhose or the like, is connected with the inlet 32 of the valve 55 andthis connection may be made through a flexible protecting piece orhousing 63. The out, let from the valve 55 is shown at 64 and comprisesa length of tubing which, through a union or similar coupling 65, isconnected with the inlet portion 31 of the boiler tube or passageway 35.

As best shown in Fig.3, the flared end portion 38 of the inlet 31 isused in making the connection through the union 65. The tubing 61isipreferably of a convenient length and at its outer end is connectedwith or provided with a coupling, generally designated 66; which may beof the general type disclosed in'the nowv abandoned application of HarryM. Voglesonger, Serial Number 8,937 filed February 1'7, 1948'. 1

Conductor cord 41 will also be of convenient length and at its outer endis provided with a suitable or desired plug cap 61. .For convenience inhandling the cord 4! and the tube 6|, small clips may be used to holdthem together for the greater portion of their length, one of such clipsbeing shown at 5B.

When the iron of the invention is to be used, the plug cap 611s pluggedinto a suitable electrical outlet and the coupling 65 is connected to atap or faucet, a portion of one of which is shown at 69 in Fig. 1. Fromthis tap or faucet, water will be supplied under city pressure. Thethermostatic or thermal switch is adjusted or dialed to thedesiredsetting by operation of the finger or hand piece3ll and the iron[0 is thenready for use. a The faucet L59 will have its valve (notshown) open to provide a constant or steady dribble and any excesspressure will berelieved through a regulator feature of thecoupling'fifi, all as disclosed in the'above mentioned application ofHarry M. Voglesonger. If steam is desired, the needle valve 58 is openedby manipulation of the knob or finger piece6ll and water under pressureoffthe city mains isforced into the passageway provided by the metaltubing '36 castinto the aluminum casting 35, said casting and tubecomprising the present'flash boiler. j

Heat from the heating unit or element l3 on the upper side of the flashboiler converts thewater into steam which, passing through the entirelength of the tube, enters the chamber orv pocket 40 and from thelatter-.passesout through. the ports 33 to the underside of the soleplate. Whenever steam is not desired, it is merely necessarytoelosethevalve55r' :1" .i r

An iron constructed-as described hasmany advantagesov'er the'tank'type-of steam iron. In'the present iron therefis notv the bulk. to"v befound in the tank type of steam iron and further, with the presentconstruction, theisupply. of steam is practically inexhaustible astherev is no occasion for refilling a tank or the like..':Addivtionally, the presentiron has the abilitywto supply copiousquantities of steamlwhetherjdry or wet. Practically instantly the valve55mayb'e closed, adapting the iron for dry ironing; .Just

is controlledby the valve 55 and thus the iron may deliver variablquantities oi steam. Since either the steamsyste'm opento aninexhaustible supply. of water or theironsisbeing useddry, it includes asafety feature in. that, there is ,no occasion for steam explosion.- I

The ironofthe invention is adapted for producing' jsteam when the ironis hot even'lthough the iron-is dialed to the higher-ranges sin'cecontothe previous structures th steam infthe present instance is not producedbeforethewater has a chance to move away from the valv'e 55 so steam inlarge quantities may be produced; Depending on the-volume oiwater-supplied, the steam passing out through the ports 33 may be verywet steam or it may be superheated and therefore dry or invisible steam.

With the described construction, when the iron is dialed for its highestheat, the needle valve 58 may be opened wide to allow the heatingelement l3 to evaporate as much water as is within its continuous-onpower to do so. That is, all the electrical energy can be diverted intoevaporated water Whereas in other constructions the maximum ability toconvert steam into water is limited by the design and not by theavailable power. This makes a substantial difierence since the ironherein disclosed will evaporate about one ounce of water per minutewhereas in constructions previously provided the capacity is aboutone-third of that of the present iron. Thus, the iron of the inventionis capable of producing large quantities of steam obviating thenecessity for the use of a pressing cloth.

With the present construction, it will be seen that steam is producedunder water pressure and not steam pressure and that the presentconstruction has the ability to translate all of the available electricenergy into heat of evaporation. The described iron is easily assembledsince the flash boiler 12, for the purpose of assembly, comprises but asingle element; namely, the casting having the circuitous passagewayprovided therein by the casting therein of the flat coiled tubing 35.Additionally, it will be understood that steam is made in the boilerunder external water pressure, such as city pressure, supplied to thevalve 58 located on the iron and controlling the intake to the boiler.

Having thus set for the the nature of my invention, what I claim is:

1. In an electric steam iron, a sole plate having ports extendingthrough it from its upper side to its under side, a boiler on the upperside of said sole plate and conforming generally to the contours of saidupper side, an electrical heating element on top of said boiler,thermostatically controlled switch means supported on said sole plateabove the mid portion thereof and directly responsive to the temperatureof said sole plate, said boiler and said heating element having alignedopening through their mid portions accommodating said switch means, saidswitch means connected in and controlling the circuit of said heatingelement, said boiler having a passage therethrough including an end forreceiving water under pressure and a discharge end communicating withsaid ports to supply steam thereto.

2. In an electric steam iron, a sole plate hav- 6 ing ports extending:through it from its upper side to its under side, a boiler. on the upperside of said sole-pla'te and having ta passage therethrough includingan" inlet and an outlet comrnunicating with said: ports, fan electricelement on :'the upper side ofgsaid boiler" for heating said boileraan'dthe contents of said passage, a closure shell oversaidiboflerandfheating elementand connected to said sole plate, ialhandle fixed-:to

saidshell, a conductor cord entering said handle and having itswiresconnected with said electric element; Z a valve amounted? in said handleand 'connectedwith the-inlet 'of saidpassage, azfiex ibl tube: coupledat one endtosaid ya'lvelfor supplying water thereto. and adapted: tohave its other 'endrcoupledsto asource: ofnwater. under pressure, said*valve including ac-asing having :a valve'se'at,=a.needlewalve in saidcasing and hav: ing threaded engagement with a portion thereof for.adjustment toward and. from said seat and whereby the? valve will remainin adjusted. position, and a hand piece connected with said needle valvefor manual adjustment of the same.

3. In an electric steam iron, a steel sole plate having ports extendingthrough it from its upper side to its under side, a boiler on the upperside of said sole plate and comprising a flat aluminum casting having ahat circuitous passage therein, said casting being of the generalcontour of said sole plate, means securing said casting against theupper side of said sole plate, an electric heating element against theupper side of saidcasting, means whereby water may be supplied to saidpassage, and said passage having a discharge communicating with saidports.

4. In an electric steam iron, a steel sole plate having ports extendingthrough it from its upper side to its under side, a boiler on the upperside of said sole plate and comprising a flat aluminum casting having aflat circuitous passage therein, said casting being of the generalcontour of said sole plate, means securing said casting against theupper side of said sole plate, an electric heating element against theupper side of said casting, an insulating pad against the upper side ofsaid electric heating element, a pressure plate against the upper sideof said pad whereby pressure is distributed over said pad and elementand the latter is secured in good thermal contact with said boiler,means whereby Water may be supplied to said passage, and said passagehaving a discharge communicating with said ports.

5. In an electric steam iron, a sole plate having ports extendingthrough it from its upper side to its under side, a pair of studssecured to said sole plate and extending upwardly therefrom, athermostatically controlled switch means mounted by said studs anddirectly responsive to sole plate temperature, a substantially flatboiler on the upper side of said sole plate and'generally conforming toits contours, a heating element on the upper side of said boiler, saidboiler and heating element having registering openings accommodatingsaid studs and switch means, said switch means connected in circuit withand controlling said heating element, said boiler having a passagetherethrough including receiving and discharge ends, means to connectsaid receiving end to a source of water under pressure, said dischargeend being located to supply steam to said ports, a shell over said soleplate, boiler and heating element, a handle attached to said shell, andmeans passing through said shell and threaded to said studs to securesaid shell to said sole plate.

6. In an electric steam iron, a sole plate having ports extendingthrough it from its upper side to its under side, a pair of studssecured to said sole plate and extending upwardly therefrom, athermostatically controlled switch means mounted on said studs anddirectly responsive to sole plate temperature, a substantially fiatboiler on the upper side of said sole plate andgenerally conforming toits contours, a heating element on the upper side of said boiler, saidboiler and heating element having registering openings accommodatingsaid studs and switch means, said switch means connected in circuit withand controlling said heating element, said boiler having a sinuouspassage therethrough including receiving and discharge ends, means toconnectsaid receiving end to asource of water under pressure, saiddischarge end being located to supply steam to said ports; a shell oversaid sole plate, boiler and heat ing element, and a handle attached tosaid shell. 7; The device of claim 6 wherein the boiler is in '8 theform of a casting and the sinuous passage therethrough is defined byflat coiled tubing cast therein. V 1

8. The device of claim 7 wherein the sole-plate is of ,steel and theboiler casting oi aluminum.

ALAN BATE,-

} REFERENCES CITED The following references are of record in the file ofthis patent: v

UNITED STATES PATENTS I Number; Name Date 1,666,599 Hofiman Apr. 17,1928 1,958,876 -Wright May 15, 1934 1,973,052 Emery Sept; 11, 19342,026,422 Fielding e Dec, 31, 1935 2,084,270 Campbell June 15, 19372,123,002 Dowinsky July 5,1938 2,387,281

Morton Oct. 23, 1945

